Fair Use Policy for Course Reserves
Drexel University Libraries provides Course Reserves in accordance with U.S. Copyright Law. The Libraries consider each request on a case-by-case basis and look to the four factors of the Fair Use provisions for guidance. All four factors of fair use must be reviewed to determine whether fair use applies. Some requests may not meet the definition of fair use; in those cases, the Libraries will investigate options for obtaining the required permissions and/or licenses or assist faculty in identifying alternative resources. The Drexel University Libraries Course Reserve Fair Use Policy was developed under the guidance of Drexel University’s Office of General Counsel. To discuss questions about this policy, please contact
reserve@drexel.edu.
General Guidelines
• Materials may be placed on reserve for a course only at the request of faculty for noncommercial, educational use by students participating in the faculty member’s course.
• Materials placed on reserve must be owned by the University or the requesting faculty member. Materials obtained via Interlibrary Loan may not be placed on reserve.
• All materials placed on reserve for a course will include a notice of copyright.
• Course reserve materials will be removed after the course ends.
• The amount of material placed on course reserve should be reasonable in relation to the total amount of material assigned for one term of a course, taking into account the nature of the course.
If you have thoughts, concerns, or ideas related to Drexel Libraries Course Materials and/or the new Fair Use Policy, please
contact reserve@drexel.edu.
Books
Physical books added to the Libraries’ reserve collection do not need any form of copyright or publisher authorization unless there is a license.
Electronic Reserves
In addition to placing physical books on reserve, Faculty may add articles and chapters from books electronically. The Libraries recommends that faculty consider using licensed electronic resources available from the Libraries’ collection when possible. There are no limits on how many licensed resources can be linked in our reserve system. Alternatively, faculty can upload files into the Course Reserve system or submit photocopies for scanning at the circulation desk. Full attribution should be provided for each work. Any photocopies submitted must include the title and copyright page information of either the book from which it was copied or the journal from which the article is found in order to be posted into course reserves. This information is typically found on the reverse of the title page on the book or on the publication information of the journal article.
Fair use guidelines for article and book chapter requests per term are as follows:
• Article: if the article is not available through one of the University’s licensed resources, no more than 1 article from a single issue of a periodical or journal can be posted
• Book Chapters: no more than 1 chapter from a single work with 10 or more chapters or 10% from a work with 10 chapters or fewer. If short excerpts are taken from several chapters, the amount should be equivalent to the average chapter length of a book with 10 or more chapters or 10% from a work with 10 chapters or less.
• If the work is factual (scientific, technical) in nature, rather than creative or expressive, it may be acceptable to place more of the work on reserve. If there is a question regarding the amount of the copyrighted work placed on reserve during a given semester, the Head of Access Services will consult with General Counsel.
Please note that the Libraries cannot scan an entire book or other work, nor can the Libraries post an electronic copy of an entire work that may be uploaded to Course Reserves. The Libraries can, however, post links to full-text works that are available through Drexel University Libraries
e-resources or on the internet.
Articles and Book Chapters will be made unavailable at the end of the term. If material is used in following terms for new classes, faculty must reactivate material for a new term.
If you have thoughts, concerns, or ideas related to Drexel Libraries Course Materials and/or the new Fair Use Policy, please contact reserve@drexel.edu.
Streaming Video
Only materials owned by the Libraries may be provided as streaming media via the online reserves service. The Libraries will attempt to acquire requested titles that are not owned. If the material is the faculty member’s own product and the faculty member holds the copyright, the
Libraries will accept a gift copy for the collection. Faculty who are assigning video content in a course may request that the Libraries make this content available on the University’s rich media server, so that enrolled students -- either on campus or at a distance -- may view and review the
required materials at any time during the term. This content is only available to enrolled students and is password protected. Students may access this content through the Libraries’ course reserve system or through the appropriate course management software. Streaming will be made
unavailable at the end of the term. If material is used in following terms for new classes, faculty must request that the material be made available for a new term.
The amount streamed should be reasonable and appropriate for the educational purpose, in accordance with fair use. Faculty should take into account the relevance to the teaching objective and the overall amount of material assigned for the course. Please include details of the
sections of works needed-- timings, chapter numbers, and visual cues all help.
Since processing may take considerable time, we ask that faculty make their requests as early as possible using Drexel Libraries Course Materials in Blackboard Learn.